Re: HOWTO: Build an energy-efficient Ubuntu box

That is an excellent question!

No, makes no difference as far as hardware. Energy efficient hardware is just that. The main point of this post is that the hardware is energy efficient AND works with Linux. All of the hardware will work 'out of the box' with a Ubuntu OS. Buy a machine off the shelf and that is DEFINITELY not a guarantee.

If you were to build and energy efficient Windows box, you wouldn't need to be so specific about hardware. The deceptive thing is, of course, that hardware often comes with 'Window & Mac ready' and all that guff, but not Linux ready. Generally, things work just fine with Linux also but best to be careful. You don't want to fork out for a top of the range vid card only to find you have spent two months trying to get the thing to work.

If you want to run Linux and you're building a machine to do it, best to do your research rather than find yourself up s**t creek without a paddle.

Glad you liked the post! It is about time I updated it I think cos things move pretty quick in the world of technology and some of this is outdated. (LED monitors are MUCH more energy efficient that even LCD).

Re: HOWTO: Build an energy-efficient Ubuntu box

The software used is also important, in my opinion, as it may be needed to enable the energy saving modes of the hardware. For example, hard drives can stop their platters from spinning using software and in windows, processors undervolt and down clock themselves using software.

The paradox is, you need the hardware to be able to support the power saving mode in the first place.

One question for you Bucky, if you had to build your energy efficient build today, what would it be? Just out of interest that's all...

Re: HOWTO: Build an energy-efficient Ubuntu box

Originally Posted by Jammy4041

One question for you Bucky, if you had to build your energy efficient build today, what would it be? Just out of interest that's all...

'Nother great question! I have some holidays starting now so get back to you on that one. I would definitely look at the LED options for starters. Not sure if there's been much improvement from the WD GreenPower drives as far as efficiency goes.

Will have a sniff over the next few weeks and update the post. Cheers everyone!

Re: HOWTO: Build an energy-efficient Ubuntu box

This is a great post. It will make building a server for home/web much easier. But I saw you said that you bookmark all of your builds. I have done that, but once you bookmark it you cannot have a copy of it in another folder. You may think, "Why have a copy of it in another folder?". Well, what if you want to use the same RAM as if often do need to on more than one build? See? I use my build parts in a HTML file for each build. I am attaching the code and what it would look like. There are instructions to view your result as well.
What is a good, small case for a server that runs three or four small websites and is a home server for backups and a photo/music server?
Thanks! On!

Re: HOWTO: Build an energy-efficient Ubuntu box

Thanks for the kind comments and the html file tip. This thread needs to be updated so might do some research over the Christmas break.

As for the server; I saw a mini-server (but didn't realise it was actually a 2.5 inch enclosure) a few months ago. Just a small enclosure which plugs into the router, give it an IP, and away you go! Doubt it would use much energy at all. BUT ... don't know if you can get a terrabyte 2.5 inch drive. Never used 'em in an external case so have no knowledge of that.

There's a start. If you want something you can cram with a few hard drives, though, an energy efficient PSU, as always, is the place to start. From there, the case is up to you. Keep It Simple! The more PCI cards, etc, you jam in there, the more power it will use. Motherboard? As basic as you can get. It won't even be running a screen after all!

Processor is going need to fit the MB, naturally, so take that into consideration as you should pick the processor that is going to cover the job FIRST then match the MB to that. (Do some research on the lowest power CPU that covers what you want to do.)

As for the case itself? Give yourself some room! Unless the case is a 'just slip 'em in and slip 'em out' design, you are going to need to get elbow deep while plugging cables.

I have not researched what you're after but there could be pre-existing boxes out there, you just add the hard drive, so I'd have a look around there, too (Antec might be a place to start but energy-efficient boxes 'off-the-shelf' become more common, and pre-made server boxes are prime for energy savings as they tend to be on 24/7 so savings are more noticable for domestic and especially business users).

You no doubt know a lot of this, but you might pick up a new idea, never know. Good luck with it.

Re: HOWTO: Build an energy-efficient Ubuntu box

i like the mini-itx boards, they are small and power efficient and still grunty enough for a well placed linux system to run very well and preform all the necessary tasks.

speaking in terms of hardware, there are all kinds of hardware that can be, and should be used in place of heavier counterparts as they are more efficient - they -should be- cheaper than the heavier desktop systems that essentially give the same user experience.

the implementation of hardware from the perspective of the kernel itself is really where linux users and enthusiasts can make the most immediate difference, and the great thing about that is differences can be made which effect not only the performance and power consumption of a machine positively, but can also effect the lifespan of a machine positively as well.

aside from giving the fans routine cleanups and lubrication, removing dust from the heat-sinks and ensuring ideal environmental factors here are some of the programs in linux that can improve the performance, power usage and life-span of a machine -

cpudyn
It saves battery, lowers temperature, and can put the computer disks in standby mode if a given period has passed without any I/O operation.

powertop
finds the software component(s) that make your {system} use more power than necessary while it is idle. - (this one is really smart)

upower
an abstraction of the power controls present in HAL which are now officially obsolete... not yet fully implemented(?).

cpulimit
limits the cpu usage of a process, good when something is causing an overload or simply to reduce the load.

procmeter3
my fav system monitor- temp, load, usage, in, out, average, etc. cpu, gpu, hdd, network. if it gives a reading, this little beastie will pick it up and give you the facts.

pm-utils
suspend / hibernate... this is what you want to know about for these functions.

bum / rcconf
these let you disable the things that lurk in the background eating power and resources.

--- in the kernel source itself there are sections for device support like thermal sensors and motherboard specific power-saving features that sometimes have to be compiled in. From hardware to kernel, building a system with all the right features and switches specific to the needs of its application, and easily accessible, will bring multiple benefits in the matter of power/performance.

when a material has an amount of energy passing through it and that wave-length becomes variable so does the energy consumption and the thermal byproduct change accordingly.

the computers desired byproducts= data, output. can easily be achieved with very little resistance and energy: how? with the right variables of course!

Re: HOWTO: Build an energy-efficient Ubuntu box

Wow,,
Thanks for taking the time to go through all of that.Very usefull info,,a wealth of knowledge.Im going to remove my CPU heatsinks,clean off all the old thermal paste and re-apply the Arctic Silver that you mentioned.

I am a two way radio tech by trade,,we use thermal compound on our transistors,FETS,and regulators,,I never thought to check out the old PC.

Re: HOWTO: Build an energy-efficient Ubuntu box

how about basing an ubuntu machine on a Raspberry Pi? The board is $35 US. Or paralleling two or more RaspPi? Much less processing power than a desktop but also requires much less power than a desktop. Think about a dedicated video transcoder which may take more than a day to transcode your movie but can sit in the corner churning away without costing much. I'll bet you can get up and running (assuming you already own the TV or Monitor on which you watch your movies) for less than $100.